Fluorocarbon fluoroalkanesulfonate esters have utility as intermediates, e.g., in the synthesis of drugs such as antibiotics (see, e.g., S. Sakamoto et al., J. Antibiotics 37 (12), 1628-34 (1984)). These compounds have often been prepared by the reaction of a fluoroalkanesulfonic anhydride with a fluorine-containing alcohol in the presence of a base such as pyridine, as described, e.g., by P. G. Gassman et al., J. Org. Chem. 1984, 49, 2258-73 (at page 2270).
Fluorocarbon fluoroalkanesulfonates have also been prepared by reaction of a fluoroalkanesulfonyl halide (rather than the corresponding anhydride) with a fluorine-containing alcohol in the presence of base, as described, e.g., by Sakamoto et al., supra, at page 1631, by V. G. DeVries et al., J. Med. Chem. 26, 1411-21 (at page 1417)(1983), and in U.S. Pat. No. 3,419,595 (Hansen). These references disclose the general use of a solvent such as methylene chloride and the use of various different reaction temperatures.